THE Culture Secretary has warned that The Crown "is fiction" and should not be mistaken as fact, as concerns for the Netflix show's potential lasting damage deepen.
Oliver Dowden praised the royal drama as a "beautifully produced work of fiction", but said viewers could be in danger of mistaking it for fact without a warning at the beginning of each episode.
Mr Dowden told the Mail on Sunday: "It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.
"Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact."
The warning comes amid rumours the Netflix show, which has been confirmed for seasons five and six, could be extended to show Princes William and Harry as adults.
Finding Freedom author, Omid Scobie, said he's heard "rumblings" Netflix are considering extending the run past Princess Diana's tragic death in 1997, speaking on his podcast Heirpod.
Omid said: “I think originally it was reported that it would stop before William and Harry become adults, I’ve certainly heard there is talk within Netflix about the possibility that the show might be extended."
Follow our Meghan and Harry live blog below for the very latest news on the couple and the Royal Family
- Jon Lockett
QUEEN'S FESTIVE BUBBLE
The Queen has chosen her Christmas bubble, according to reports, and it includes some surprising guests.
Dozens of Royals normally join Her Majesty, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, at Sandringham for Christmas – but her kids, grandchildren and great-grandchildren make up 10 separate households.
According to his sources: “Prince Edward and his family will be one of the two in her bubble”, thanks to the Queen's close relationship with his wife, Sophie, 55.
The Earl of Wessex, 56, is the Queen's youngest son. Prince Charles, 72, as heir to the throne, and Prince William, as next in line, were seen as most likely to join the bubble – but at least one of them won't be able to celebrate with the Queen this year.
- Jon Lockett
ROYAL EXPERT SAYS THE CROWN NOT ACCURATE
Dickie Arbiter, Queen Elizabeth II's former spokesperson, told Times Radio that The Crown depicted Prince Charles in an unfair manner.
Mr Arbiter said: “The Crown is entertainment as Peter Morgan admitted this past week is that this is not a documentary.
“It is not history it is drama and he has taken dramatic licence excessively and he has made the Prince of Wales a villain.
“Prince Charles is not a villain and he has never been one and Mr Morgan has made Princess Diana a victim.
“If you look at the marriage, unless you work on a marriage both parties end up victims if you end up having a divorce.”
- Jon Lockett
MEGHAN WAS 'SPELLBOUND' WHEN PRINCE HARRY TOOK HER TO AFRICA, CLAIMS BOOK
When Prince Harry whisked Meghan Markle off to South Africa in the early days of their budding romance, they both thought it was a “forever thing”, it says in biography Finding Freedom.
Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand were told that Meghan later said: “I've never felt that safe.. that close to someone in such a short amount of time.”
Their source added: “They were already dancing around the idea that this just may be a forever thing”, the book adds.
- Rebecca Flood
BUCKINGHAM PALACE’S RESPONSE TO MEGHAN MARKLE’S TRAGIC MISCARRIAGE BRANDED ‘COLD’
The Royal family’s response to the news of Meghan Markle’s tragic miscarriage has been branded ‘cold’ and a ‘huge mistake’.
The Duchess revealed she’d lost her and Prince Harry’s second child in a deeply moving essay earlier this week.
When asked, A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said of Meghan's miscarriage: “It's a deeply personal matter we would not comment on.”
Royal expert Russell Myers, Royal Editor of the Daily Mirror, spoke with TalkRADIO host Kevin O'Sullivan, saying the statement was a “huge missed opportunity”, The Express reported.
- Rebecca Flood
CULTURE SECRETARY CLAIMS THE CROWN IS A 'WORK OF FICTION'
The Culture Secretary has warned that The Crown "is fiction" and should not be mistaken as fact, as concerns for the Netflix show's potential lasting damage deepen.
Oliver Dowden last night praised the royal drama as a “beautifully produced work of fiction”, but said viewers could be in danger of mistaking it for fact without a warning at the beginning of each episode.
Mr Dowden told the Mail on Sunday: “It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.
“Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”
The newspaper said Mr Dowden is expected to write to Netflix to request a “health warning” at the start of episodes to point out the drama has been fictionalised.
- Rebecca Flood
MEGHAN PRAISES HER MUM AS A ‘FREE SPIRIT’
Meghan, who now lives an hour-and-a-half drive from her mum, previously raved about her on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig.
She wrote: “Dreadlocks. Nose ring. Yoga instructor. Social worker. Free spirit. Lover of potato chips & lemon tarts.
“And if the DJ cues Al Green’s soul classic ‘Call Me,’ just forget it. She will swivel her hips into the sweetest little dance you’ve ever seen, swaying her head and snapping her fingers to the beat like she’s been dancing since the womb.
“And you will smile. You won’t be able to help it. You will look at her and you will feel joy. I’m talking about my mom.”
- Rebecca Flood
MEGHAN WAKES UP AT 4:30AM EVERY DAY
The Duchess of Sussex is apparently an early riser, starting her day with some morning yoga.
She is then quick to get to work, with Vanity Fair reporting that she used to send emails to royal staff as early as 5am.
But despite her early rising, Meghan is likely to shun coffee as a kick-starter for her day, as she is believed to avoid caffeine.
But Meg does have one morning pick-me-up in the form of her “wake up playlist.”
Writing for her former lifestyle blog, The Tig, she says: “Turn these tracks on as you’re getting ready in the morning, when you need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, or during your next evening celebration.
“Because when the air is filled with positive vibes, there’s no winter cold that can block out the warmth of happy hearts.”
- Rebecca Flood
THE CROWN COULD BE EXTENDED TO SHOW HARRY & WILLS AS ADULTS
The Crown could be “extended” to show Prince Harry and Prince William as adults, Finding Freedom's author has claimed.
Omid Scobie said he's heard “rumblings” Netflix are considering extending the run past Princess Diana's tragic death in 1997, speaking on his podcast Heirpod.
He said: “Seasons five and six have been confirmed and there has even talk that the show…
“I think originally it was reported that it would stop before William and Harry become adults, I’ve certainly heard there is talked within Netflix about the possibility that the show might be extended.”
- Rebecca Flood
WHO IS MEGHAN'S MUM DORIA RAGLAND?
Doria Ragland is Meghan Markle's mother, and the American lives in Los Angeles, near her daughter and Prince Harry.
The 64-year-old, who works as a yoga instructor, has a home in the View Park-Windsor Hills neighbourhood of LA, just an hour-and-a-half drive from Montecito, where Harry and Meghan recently bought a house.
Doria inherited her home, located just east of Los Angeles International Airport, in 2011 when her father died.
Mother and daughter are incredibly close, with Doria staying with Meghan after she welcomed baby Archie in May 2019.
Read our full explainer on that here.
- Rebecca Flood
MEGHAN’S REAL NAME REVEALED – AND YOU MIGHT RECOGNISE IT
Meghan Markle is now a household name, but it’s not the one on her birth certificate.
Meghan’s real name is in fact Rachel – the same name as her Suits character.
The Queen used Meghan's full name when she officially blessed the couple's marriage, saying: “My Lords, I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which Consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the Books of the Privy Council.”
- Rebecca Flood
NEW PRINCESS DIANA STATUE INSTALLED JULY 2021
A new statue of the late Princess Diana will be on view at Kensington Palace from next July on what would have been her 60th birthday, an official has said.
Her sons, Princes William and Harry, commissioned a statue in honour of their mother – who died in a Paris car crash more than 20 years ago – to be erected outside the Duke of Cambridge's home at the palace.
But, there has been a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Diana was killed when the limousine carrying her and her lover Dodi al-Fayed crashed in a Paris tunnel in August 1997.
The princes' new statue will be unveiled on July 1.
- Rebecca Flood
ARCHIE AND THE QUEEN'S SURPRISING SUCCESSION SIMILARITY
As baby Archie is seventh in line to the throne, it is highly unlikely that Meghan Markle's son will become King.
However, the latest addition to the Royal Family shares a surprising similarity to his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II who held the same position in the line as succession when she was born.
In 1936, the Royal Family was rocked by an abdication crisis after Edward VIII gave up his role as monarch to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson without having produced an heir of his own.
After Edward stepped down, his younger brother the Duke of York – the Queen's father – inherited the throne and became King George VI in December 1936.
This then paved the way for Queen Elizabeth II – who was originally seventh in the line of succession after her father's siblings – to eventually become the sovereign aged 25.
However, Prince William's three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – each have a greater claim to the throne than their cousin Archie.
- Rebecca Flood
MEGHAN'S YOUTUBE BEAUTY TIPS
She might have access to the world’s top make-up artists – but when it comes to keeping up with beauty trends, Meghan Markle looks to YouTube like the rest of us.
The Duchess’ makeup artist Daniel Martin -who has known Meghan for more than a decade – has revealed that she even asks him to analyse clips off the video sharing site to learn the hottest new techniques.
Makeup artist Daniel, from Seattle, told Grazia magazine: “She makes me go on YouTube to learn about things. She'll be like, 'I follow this person and they did it this way'.”
And it's not the first time the expectant mother, 37, has used modern methods to keep herself up to date with the newest trend.
Daniel previously revealed that he and the Duchess conducted a makeup trial for her wedding day over text message, before completely the look for the first time on her big day.
- Rebecca Flood
WHY MEGHAN ALWAYS WEARS SHOES THAT ARE TOO BIG FOR HER
You may have noticed that the Duchess of Sussex appears to often be wearing shoes that are too big for her – and it's no accident.
According to Fabulous fashion expert Harriet Davey: “Celebs often go a size up, or even two, in the shoe department when they're at an event or on the red carpet and it's for one reason we can all relate to – to avoid blisters.
“There's nothing worse than uncomfortable shoes (we've all been there on a night out) and when celebs like Meghan are wearing heels for a long period of time their feet can often swell up.”
She explains: “The swelling can cause blisters and in the long run bunions – like long-time heel fan Victoria Beckham has been rumoured to suffer with.”
- Rebecca Flood
MEGHAN 'TOOK TIME'TO PRIVATELY PROCESS MISCARRIAGE BEFORE SHARING'
Meghan Markle took time to privately process her tragic miscarriage before her brave public revelation, a source has claimed.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, today the “unbearable grief” she and husband Prince Harry had gone through after the miscarriage in July.
Since the piece was published, a source close to the Duchess of Sussex confirmed Meghan is currently in “good health”.
The source said the couple had taken time to process what happened and made the decision to talk about it publicly after realising how common miscarriages are.
- Becky Pemberton
'DISTRESSED' MEGHAN SPOKE TO TWO SENIOR ROYAL OFFICIALS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH HER DAD
Meghan has admitted she had help from two senior royals on how to deal with her dad Thomas Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, for releasing a letter she wrote to her estranged father.
In the Duchess' amended court documents, she states how she had help from senior royals on how to deal with her dad.
This led her to write the letter to her dad “in an attempt to get him to stop talking to the press”.
The papers say: “Given the Claimant’s level of distress surrounding the form, frequency and content of the media coverage concerning her father, and as the newest member of the Royal Family who wanted to follow protocol, the Claimant sought advice from two senior members of the Royal Family on how best to address the situation.”
It does not reveal who the senior royals were.
- Becky Pemberton
KATE REVEALS HOW SHE COPES WITH GEORGE AND CHARLOTTE'S TANTRUMS
The Duchess of Cambridge was asked how she copes with her kids kicking up a fuss, as she hosted a Q&A from members of the public in relation to her recent early years project.
When asked “how do you manage temper tantrums in your household”, Kate said: “Yes, that's a hard one”, before laughing and adding “I'd also like to ask the experts myself”.
Deputy head of the Early Years programme at the Anna Freud Centre, Alice Haynes, cut in with her own experience with her two-year-old son.
She said: “When my son has a temper-tantrum, I try to put into words how I think he might be feeling in a slow and calm and gentle way.”
- Becky Pemberton
MEGHAN MARKLE'S STAGGERING NET WORTH
According to Business Insider, Meghan has an estimated net worth of £3.8million ($5million) which she accumulated from her acting career.
She starred in over 100 episodes of the legal drama Suits, where she was paid £40,463 ($50,000) per episode – according to knownetworth.com, towards the end of her acting career.
Meghan earned around about £291,339 ($360,000) from her roles in the 2010 movies Remember Me and The Candidate.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry’s net worth is reported to be at least £19.2million ($25million), which is made up of an inheritance from Princess Diana and an annual allowance from Prince Charles.
It's unknown how much of this comes from the crown.
- Becky Pemberton
GEMMA COLLINS REVEALS SHE HAD A MISCARRIAGE LIKE MEGHAN'S
This week, Towie star Gemma Collins bravely revealed how she had a third miscarriage this year.
Writing for The Sun last week, she said: “I hope you don’t mind me writing to you like this. You don’t know me, and we’ve never met, but I cried when I read what you’d written about your miscarriage yesterday.
“Your sadness and grief leapt out of the page, along with your desire to comfort other women who have been through the same heartbreak.
“I am one of those women. Because like you I also had a miscarriage in July – one of the ten or twenty women in a room of a hundred that you wrote about who will know the particular pain of losing a longed-for baby.
“I’ve not talked about this before, but it was my third, each one a devastating loss on my longed-for journey to motherhood.
“I’ve been trying to have a baby for nearly a decade now, only to have my hopes dashed time and again by first one miscarriage, then another.”
- Becky Pemberton
QUEEN CHOOSES 'CHRISTMAS BUBBLE' OUT OF ROYAL FAMILY
The Queen has chosen her Christmas bubble, according to reports, and it includes some surprising guests.
Dozens of Royals normally join Her Majesty, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, at Sandringham for Christmas – but her kids, grandchildren and great-grandchildren make up 10 separate households.
This means Boris Johnson's three household cap on Christmas celebrations has put a spanner in the works.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Richard Eden said: “The Queen will set a good example and abide by the rules, so who will be in the 'royal bubble'? I hear there may be a surprise in store.”
According to his sources: “Prince Edward and his family will be one of the two in her bubble”, thanks to the Queen's close relationship with his wife, Sophie, 55.
The Earl of Wessex, 56, is the Queen's youngest son. Prince Charles, 72, as heir to the throne, and Prince William, as next in line, were seen as most likely to join the bubble – but at least one of them won't be able to celebrate with the Queen this year.
- Becky Pemberton
CHARLES REVEALS SADNESS AT NOT SEEING ARCHIE FOR OVER A YEAR
The coronavirus crisis means we've all not been able to see our loved ones as much as we'd like – and this applies to the Royal Family too.
According to the Daily Mail, Prince Charles has spoken of his sadness at “not seeing Archie for a YEAR” after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left for Canada last November.
An insider told the publication: “The Prince of Wales enjoyed popping into Frogmore Cottage to see his youngest grandchild and is sad that he hasn’t seen him for so long.
“He has missed much of his development since he is now growing up in the USA.”
Last November, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the UK for a six-week break in Canada.
Since then, they have returned to Britain twice – but did not bring Archie with them on either occasion.
- Becky Pemberton
ZARA TINDALL PAVED THE WAY FOR MEGHAN TO SPEAK ABOUT MISCARRIAGE
Meghan Markle recently shared the heartbreaking news that she and Prince Harry suffered a miscarriage with their second child.
The Duchess of Sussex shared the tragic news in an article for the New York Times titled “The Losses We Share” – and there is one member of the royal family who is all too aware of that loss.
Zara Tindall was the first member of the royal family to speak openly about miscarriage when she lost two babies following the birth of her eldest daughter Mia, six.
The Queen’s granddaughter, who is married to rugby captain Mike Tindall, revealed in 2016 that her second pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage.
And two years later the mum-of-two opened up about the loss in an interview with the Sunday Times, revealing she had suffered a second miscarriage before the birth of her youngest, Lena, two.
- Becky Pemberton
MEGHAN DID PASS INFO TO FINDING FREEDOM AUTHORS
Meghan Markle admits passing information to the authors of Finding Freedom using a go-between but claims it wasn't to “enhance her image”.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, for releasing a letter she wrote to her estranged dad, Thomas Markle.
The newspaper argues the 39-year-old “co-operated” with the authors of Finding Freedom.
She was accused of feeding personal information to the writers to “set out her own version of events in a way that is favourable to her” – therefore breaching her own privacy.
Her amended court documents released today show she spoke with someone who had been approached by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand to set the record straight regarding her dad.
- Becky Pemberton
THE CROWN IS 'FICTION AND MUST NOT BE MISTAKEN AS FACT', WARNS CULTURE SECRETARY
The Culture Secretary has warned that The Crown "is fiction" and should not be mistaken as fact, as concerns for the show's potential lasting damage deepen.
Oliver Dowden praised the royal drama as a “beautifully produced work of fiction”, but said viewers could be in danger of mistaking it for fact without a warning at the beginning of each episode.
Mr Dowden told the Mail on Sunday: “It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.
“Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”
The newspaper said Mr Dowden is expected to write to Netflix to request a “health warning” at the start of episodes to point out the drama has been fictionalised.
- Rebecca Flood
KATE MIDDLETON JOKED ABOUT NEEDING ADVICE TO DEAL WITH HER KIDS' TANTRUMS
In other royal news Kate Middleton has joked about needing advice on handling George, Charlotte and Louis's temper tantrums.
The Duchess of Cambridge said she would “like to ask the experts” for advice while answering early years questions from members of the public.
While responding to the question “how do you manage temper tantrums in your household” via video message, Kate said: “Yes, that's a hard one”, before laughing and saying “I'd also like to ask the experts myself”.
The Duchess thanked a “huge number” of her social media followers who sent in questions “with wonderful emojis attached to them”, before revealing that her interest in early years is driven by ambitions for “the society we could and can become”.
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